Group Coaching for Psychological Wellbeing and Healthy Lifestyle in Menopausal Women: two parallel randomized controlled experiments
Stefano De Dominicis, Peter Elsborg, Vinnie Andersen and Reinhard Stelter
Citation: De Dominicis, S., Elsborg, P., Andersen, V., & Stelter, R. (2025). Group Coaching for Psychological Wellbeing and Healthy Lifestyle in Menopausal Women: two parallel randomized controlled experiments. International Journal of Coaching Psychology, 6, 3, 1-15. https://ijcp.nationalwellbeingservice.com/volumes/volume-6-2025/volume-6-article-3
Processing dates: Submitted: 8 May 2024; Resubmitted: 17 July 2024; Accepted: 5 August 2024; Published: 7 March 2025
Abstract
Background and aim: Women facing menopause experience an aging-related health decline that can be partly countered with engagement in physical activity. Unfortunately, adherence to physical activity interventions in this target group is low: thus, the main goal of this research was to promote engagement in a healthy lifestyle and psychological health in the target group.
Methods: In two parallel randomized controlled experiments we investigated the effect of a group coaching intervention, as an add-on to a physical activity intervention (Experiment 1) or as a standalone intervention (Experiment 2), on exercise maintenance, stress, anxiety and depression for menopausal women. Respectively, participants were menopausal women recruited from a physical activity intervention (n=56) or via advertisement in newspapers (n=44), and were randomly assigned either into a group coaching intervention group or a waiting list control group.
Results: Results showed that 3 months of group coaching reduced stress and anxiety in participants who had not previously participated in a physical activity intervention and, critically, it also facilitated the maintenance of reduced stress and anxiety obtained through previous participation in a physical activity intervention.
Discussion and Conclusion: We discuss the implication of group coaching based on the premises of Third Generation Coaching, a new coaching paradigm that enables development, learning, and new possibilities of actions in all the involved actors. This co-creating process of shared experiences, interactions, relationships, and negotiations with others, might be a suitable tool to enhance social capital within a group and therefore to empower individuals to achieve their health-related goals.
Keyword: Third generation coaching, social capital, menopause, exercise, mental health
Biographies
Dr. Stefano De Dominicis is with the Coaching Psychology Unit, Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports, University of Copenhagen, Nørre Allé 55, AB Building, DK-2200 Copenhagen N, Denmark
Email: sdd@nexs.ku.dk
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8165-8028
Peter Elsborg is with the Health Promotion Research, Steno Diabetes Center Copenhagen, Gentofte, Denmark and the Center for Clinical Research and Prevention, Bispebjerg and Frederiksberg Hospital, Denmark
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1770-2274
Vinnie Andersen is with the Coaching Psychology Unit, Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports, University of Copenhagen, Nørre Allé 55, AB Building, DK-2200 Copenhagen N, Denmark and the Center for Stressrobusthed, Copenhagen, Denmark
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8075-2274
Reinhard Stelter is with the Coaching Psychology Unit, Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports, University of Copenhagen, Nørre Allé 55, AB Building, DK-2200 Copenhagen N, Denmark
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1741-0930